Summary

In the opening of the novel, a section entitled, “The Ardua Hall Holograph,” an unnamed female narrator describes a statue that has been erected in her honor nine years ago. The statue holds the hand of a young girl on one side, and in the other she holds a hand of a “Pearl Girl,” a missionary. The statue’s facial expression evokes a sense of idealism and perseverance; she looks devoted to her cause, the narrator observes, but not in a maniacal way, like some of the other Aunts’ statues look. The narrator adds that in the nine years that have passed, the condition of the statue has withered.

Speaking in the present-tense, the narrator reveals that she is writing these words from a private area in the library of Ardua – one of the few remaining libraries in Gilead. Turning to the reader, the...